Evolution in Microbes

Abstract

This review presents a broad survey of experimental microbial evolution, covering diverse topics including trade-offs, epistasis, fluctuating conditions, spatial dynamics, cooperation, aging, and stochastic switching. Emphasis is placed on examples that highlight key conceptual points or address theoretical predictions. Experimental evolution is discussed from two points of view. First, population trajectories are described as adaptive walks on a fitness landscape, whose genetic structure can be probed by experiments. Second, populations are viewed from a physiological perspective, and their nongenetic heterogeneity is examined. Bringing together these two viewpoints remains a major challenge for the future.